In need of some help. I hate the way I look, pics

Kouklasou · 09-17-2009, 04:29 PM

I started hittin up the gym not so consistently back in Jan. I got pretty sick and took a break for a whole month July-Aug.
I started again in Aug and have been super consistent. I go every morning at 6:30 and I am just lifting, no cardio.
I am not happy with the way I look at all!! I am really dedicated, I think. I am really kicking my ass but I am not making progress.
I understand I need to change my eating. I never eat crap though. I was told that I need to increase protein, cals etc.
That is where I am stumped. I am not trying to have anything handed to me, honest I just need a lil help. Maybe my goals cross each other out so please advise.
I want my muscles to be big so I need to bulk, right? but I want to be cut so I need to cut, right? OMG! I am confused.
I went to the store and bought loads of chix, tuna, greek yogurt, pb, fresh fruits and veggies. Now I just need to a compile a schedule and stick to it. But how do I add the mass with this type of eating?
Today according to fitday, I have consumed 888 Cal., 38.7g Fat, 63.9g Carbs, 75.5g Protein.
It is 4:38 PM and I had a long gap of not eating because my moth was numb from 11:30 am - just now at 4pm due to some dental work I had done today.

Also, do I have to do cardio for my goals, forget about my health, lol I know I know I need to but for my goal?
I am attaching some pics from day one, please tell ALL!!
Thank you in advance.

The pic of me actually wearing clothes is before I started
The 2nd pic is after starting again, just in the gym for 1 month consistent

summertown74 · 09-17-2009, 06:22 PM

Girl, progress doesn't happen in one month very easily. People that have major changes in one month are either people who have a LOT of fat to lose, or people who are already super conditioned who do that last push to get really low body fat.

You mentioned a 888 calorie day--is that a normal intake? What is your average calorie intake?

Yes, bulking and cutting are completely different-- it might be best to choose one and focus on that-- but again it's all in the calories. I would suggest going with maintenance or close to it for a while, then lower your calories slowly for a time, then maintain again. This way you can be paying attention to both of your goals.

Good luck!

EDIT: RE: cardio.... Cardio creates a deficit, or adds to the deficit you're creating through diet. So you have to do some math to figure out how much dieting/cardio you want to do. Cardio won't be catabolic unless your body doesn't have access to fuel.

liftingforlife · 09-18-2009, 11:14 AM

Looking good to me.

Kouklasou · 09-18-2009, 12:55 PM

Thank you I just feel like I should have more progress by now because I've been killin it in the gym.
As far as diet, the 888 cals were just yesterday, I dont know what my cal., protein, fat, carb. numbers SHOULD be.
If I am trying to bulk, what should they be? If I am trying to cut where should they be?
I guess I am just in a funk where I dont even know why the heck I am going anymore. I know what I want I just dont know how to get it.

SarcasticWalrus · 09-18-2009, 01:08 PM

I'm new at this, but I know that 888 calories in a day is NOT going to gain you anything. You'll lose weight with that. If you want to bulk (gain weight in the form of muscle, but some fat will come with it from what i understand), you need to eat more than you burn. If you're wanting to lose fat (which will lose some muscle with it), you need to eat under maintenance. Of course, don't go to extremes...I know I read cutting you should go 500 cals under maintenance, but I'm not sure about bulking. I'll leave that to someone else to answer... /waits

medjen · 09-18-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouklasou

Thank you I just feel like I should have more progress by now because I've been killin it in the gym.
As far as diet, the 888 cals were just yesterday, I dont know what my cal., protein, fat, carb. numbers SHOULD be.
If I am trying to bulk, what should they be? If I am trying to cut where should they be?
I guess I am just in a funk where I dont even know why the heck I am going anymore. I know what I want I just dont know how to get it.

Definitely be patient.

I'd say you're not eating close to enough right now. Find a basal metabolic rate calculator online then google the Harris Benedict equation to get a caloric intake estimate of someone your height, weight and age. It is just an estimate (everyone is a bit different) but it'll at least give you an estimate. To give you some idea, I'm 5'3" 115 lbs and I'm slowly dropping fat by eating ~1500 cals/day.

ETA: Your goals of building muscle while dropping fat are somewhat contradictory. It's way easier to do one than the other. For bulking, once you've figured out your maintenance, add 250-500 cals daily for 1/2-1 lb gain/week. For cutting, subtract for the same rate of loss. (1 lb = 3500 cals)

Maxime1 · 09-18-2009, 01:22 PM

You look GREAT!! seriously... Can you post your diet/training and goals?
But yes, consistency and patience is KEY.. From what I see though, you have a great figure.

Kouklasou · 09-18-2009, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by medjen

Definitely be patient.

I'd say you're not eating close to enough right now. Find a basal metabolic rate calculator online then google the Harris Benedict equation to get a caloric intake estimate of someone your height, weight and age. It is just an estimate (everyone is a bit different) but it'll at least give you an estimate. To give you some idea, I'm 5'3" 115 lbs and I'm slowly dropping fat by eating ~1500 cals/day.

ETA: Your goals of building muscle while dropping fat are somewhat contradictory. It's way easier to do one than the other. For bulking, once you've figured out your maintenance, add 250-500 cals daily for 1/2-1 lb gain/week. For cutting, subtract for the same rate of loss. (1 lb = 3500 cals)

According to the Harris Benedict equation, I need 2580 calories/day
So to gain about 1lb/week I should increase this by 250-500 cal?
Ok got that!
Now as far as fat and protein? where can I go for my suggested daily amount?
BTW
Thank you for the info, I appreciate it

Kouklasou · 09-18-2009, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxime1

You look GREAT!! seriously... Can you post your diet/training and goals?
But yes, consistency and patience is KEY.. From what I see though, you have a great figure.

Oh that is so very nice to hear =) Thank you!
Right now I am trying to get my eating straight because I am not a big eater.
As far as training, I am on week 2 of the MAX-OT I'm liking it so far.
I really follow it to a T except the chest stuff. I am not very confident to do these exercises by myself and I do not have a spotter.
Before the Max OT I was just on a normal split and really focused more on my legs, but now I got the whole shebang with the program I am using

My goal is to increase my mass but to be cut. I am really getting interested in competing, maybe one day if I can get a hang of my maintenance =)

medjen · 09-18-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouklasou

According to the Harris Benedict equation, I need 2580 calories/day
So to gain about 1lb/week I should increase this by 250-500 cal?
Ok got that!
Now as far as fat and protein? where can I go for my suggested daily amount?
BTW
Thank you for the info, I appreciate it

To make the diet change, I would slowly ramp up your cals. If you're currently eating >1000 cals/day, jumping to more than twice that could be uncomfortable. Add 100-200 cals/day to what you normally eat for a week, then do it again. Once you get to your estimated maintenance, I would sit there for a few weeks (4-6) and see how close it is to your actual maintenance.

As for macro breakdown, 40/40/20 or 40/30/30 (P/C/F) is pretty popular. Just take your total calories, multiply by .4, .3 or .2 depending on what portion of your diet is coming from that macro nutrient. That will give you cals/day for each of the macros. To get grams, divide the # of cals for protein & carbs by 4 and the # of fat cals by 9 to get your target grams of each/day. Alternatively, some people just make sure they get enough protein (~1 g/lb of body weight) and let carbs & fat fall where they may. It just depends on what works better for you.

I'd worry about getting clean calories in first then tweak macros once you get used to it a little more. Doing everything at once can be a bit overwhelming.

Make sense? If you have more diet questions, you can always start a thread in the nutrition subsection. There are also some very useful stickied threads that can help you out a lot.

user89741515 · 09-18-2009, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouklasou

According to the Harris Benedict equation, I need 2580 calories/day
So to gain about 1lb/week I should increase this by 250-500 cal?
Ok got that!
Now as far as fat and protein? where can I go for my suggested daily amount?
BTW
Thank you for the info, I appreciate it

For the protein, you need to take in 0.7 grams for each pound of body weight on your training days, and 1.0 grams for each pound of body weight on your non-training days.(I got this from Oxygen magazine!)

For the fat, I recommend getting no less than 20% of your daily calories from healthy fats. These include: almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed oil, salmon, red snapper fish, olive oil, and avocados to name a few. *Also,DO NOT eat any type of fats before exercising because it limits the amount of blood available for your muscles to perform optimally*

Just in case you want to know about carbs, here is the formula:
1) 655+(4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x your age in years)
THIS IS YOUR BASAL METABOLIC RATE, WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF CALORIES YOUR BODY NEEDS JUST TO FUNCTION.

2) Take your basal metabolic rate and multiply it by 1.375(mildly active), 1.55(moderately active), 1.725(very active), or 1.9(extremely athletic).
THIS IS THE NUMBER OF CALORIES YOU NEED TO STAY AT THE SAME BODY WEIGHT.

3) Divide that number in half, then take the number you get and divide it by 4(amount of calories in one grams of carbs.) and that is how many grams of carbs you need each day.
*Stay away from high-glycemic carbs(white bread, white pasta, corn, carrots) because they make you store body fat. Instead go for raw veggies, beans, and whole grain(quinoa, oats..).

I hope this helps you, and best of luck!
Alex

dianita23 · 09-18-2009, 09:47 PM

Girl you are crazy, You look great in both pics.I wish i looked as good as you do!!!

kimm4 · 09-18-2009, 09:57 PM

Maintenance for you is around 2300 calories based on your stats. I would focus on a clean bulk, not going too high above maintenance calories so fat gains are minimal. I would start with 2500 calories and a macro breakdown of 40p/30c/30f. If you notice fat gains too quickly, cut calories or throw in a little cardio.

Most important consistency and lot's of patience...because it's a very long road.

Good luck!

beefcake66 · 09-19-2009, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexdanf

Just in case you want to know about carbs, here is the formula:
1) 655+(4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x your age in years)
THIS IS YOUR BASAL METABOLIC RATE, WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF CALORIES YOUR BODY NEEDS JUST TO FUNCTION.

2) Take your basal metabolic rate and multiply it by 1.375(mildly active), 1.55(moderately active), 1.725(very active), or 1.9(extremely athletic).
THIS IS THE NUMBER OF CALORIES YOU NEED TO STAY AT THE SAME BODY WEIGHT.

Hey quick question for you, for the first part where you say your weight in pounds... is that your total weight or just your lean body mass? It's something I've always been wondering...

Kouklasou · 09-19-2009, 03:14 PM

So when I used the Harris Benedict equation my numbers look like this:
Fat: 78g/day
Protein: 150g/day
Carbs: 375g/day
Calories: 2800/day
To maintain I got 2500 calories/day but I am adding 300 to bulk.

Do these numbers look right?
A question that I have and forgive me if I come off as silly but I am confused =/
when I look at the nutritional facts on a package I see caloreis, fat, protein, and carbs.
Do I just stick to my calculations listed above? For example something has 1g protein, do I need to say, OK...there is 1g...only 77g more to go today and my calories are taken care of from protein?
Do I need to look at the calories on the box at all anymore or just the f,p,c since I know what my target is?
I hope that I am making sense here. I am trying to make a meal plan now that I know my numbers.
=)
Thank you again guys!

mavrick77 · 09-19-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouklasou

I started hittin up the gym not so consistently back in Jan. I got pretty sick and took a break for a whole month July-Aug.
I started again in Aug and have been super consistent. I go every morning at 6:30 and I am just lifting, no cardio.
I am not happy with the way I look at all!! I am really dedicated, I think. I am really kicking my ass but I am not making progress.
I understand I need to change my eating. I never eat crap though. I was told that I need to increase protein, cals etc.
That is where I am stumped. I am not trying to have anything handed to me, honest I just need a lil help. Maybe my goals cross each other out so please advise.
I want my muscles to be big so I need to bulk, right? but I want to be cut so I need to cut, right? OMG! I am confused.
I went to the store and bought loads of chix, tuna, greek yogurt, pb, fresh fruits and veggies. Now I just need to a compile a schedule and stick to it. But how do I add the mass with this type of eating?
Today according to fitday, I have consumed 888 Cal., 38.7g Fat, 63.9g Carbs, 75.5g Protein.
It is 4:38 PM and I had a long gap of not eating because my moth was numb from 11:30 am - just now at 4pm due to some dental work I had done today.

Also, do I have to do cardio for my goals, forget about my health, lol I know I know I need to but for my goal?
I am attaching some pics from day one, please tell ALL!!
Thank you in advance.

The pic of me actually wearing clothes is before I started
The 2nd pic is after starting again, just in the gym for 1 month consistent

everybody wants it to happen overnight....this is a very very very long process...

btw, you will NEVER GROW off 888 calories., NEVER.

Kouklasou · 09-19-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavrick77

everybody wants it to happen overnight....this is a very very very long process...

btw, you will NEVER GROW off 888 calories., NEVER.

LoL I know it is a long process, I was just hoping to see SOME progress.
And the 888 cals was because my mouth was numb all that day. That is in no way my everyday intake, lol

Sunsandsea · 10-03-2009, 08:14 PM

You look great!! You've made great progress! But... You're not eating enough. No more "fitdays" of 888 calories!! You should be eating at least 1500 calories a day. Vary your calorie consumption during the week- 1500 for say three days, 2500 on day 4, then maybe 1500-1800 on day 5, 1500 on day 6 & 2500 on day 7. Eat small, frequent meals. Drink plenty of water. Don't do cardio on days you lift. On your last sets go for 6 reps, the last being to absolute failure. If you were to try for 7, you couldn't do it. Stretch after. And get enough sleep!

ALipStickTomBoy · 10-04-2009, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouklasou

I started hittin up the gym not so consistently back in Jan. I got pretty sick and took a break for a whole month July-Aug.
I started again in Aug and have been super consistent. I go every morning at 6:30 and I am just lifting, no cardio.
I am not happy with the way I look at all!! I am really dedicated, I think. I am really kicking my ass but I am not making progress.
I understand I need to change my eating. I never eat crap though. I was told that I need to increase protein, cals etc.
That is where I am stumped. I am not trying to have anything handed to me, honest I just need a lil help. Maybe my goals cross each other out so please advise.
I want my muscles to be big so I need to bulk, right? but I want to be cut so I need to cut, right? OMG! I am confused.
I went to the store and bought loads of chix, tuna, greek yogurt, pb, fresh fruits and veggies. Now I just need to a compile a schedule and stick to it. But how do I add the mass with this type of eating?
Today according to fitday, I have consumed 888 Cal., 38.7g Fat, 63.9g Carbs, 75.5g Protein.
It is 4:38 PM and I had a long gap of not eating because my moth was numb from 11:30 am - just now at 4pm due to some dental work I had done today.

Also, do I have to do cardio for my goals, forget about my health, lol I know I know I need to but for my goal?
I am attaching some pics from day one, please tell ALL!!
Thank you in advance.

The pic of me actually wearing clothes is before I started
The 2nd pic is after starting again, just in the gym for 1 month consistent

First all, never hate yourself. That attitude will drag you down. I am not always "thrilled" with things, like right now I am at a standstill for fat loss, however I keep adding muscle...so I ahve the opposite thing going on...but I will say this; if I ate 1/2 of the food you listed, I would probably lose muscle. I am not trying to convert you, but I would personally lose all the carbs you are eating (fruit, too much sugar yougurt, useless) and maybe eat more lean meats...turkey, chicken, basically substitute all the sugar stuff for more lean protein. I live on a more Keto style diet, but with my build I almost need too...carbs DO make me fat. Some disagree, but even simple things like bananas, brown rice, those kind of food get me right in the center. The only advice I san say is change your diet...big time. And also, it will not happen over night. I have been stuck at the same damn weight for 5 weeks now. It happens. E mail me if you want some ideas...